Making strongInvisiblestrong Work Visible - Analytic Technologies.pdfVIP

Making Invisible Work Visible: USING SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS TO SUPPORT STRATEGIC COLLABORATION Rob Cross Stephen P. Borgatti Andrew Parker ver the past decade, significant restructuring efforts have resulted in organizations with fewer hierarchical levels and more permeable internal and external boundaries. A byproduct of these restructur- Oing efforts is that coordination and work increasingly occur through informal networks of relationships rather than through channels tightly pre- scribed by formal reporting structures or detailed work processes. For example, informal networks cutting across core work processes or holding together new product development initiatives are not found on formal organizational charts. However, these networks often promote organizational flexibility, innovation, and efficiency as well as quality of products or services by virtue of effectively pooling unique expertise. Supporting collaboration and work in these informal networks is increasingly important for organizations competing on knowledge and an ability to innovate and adapt. Unfortunately, critical informal networks often compete with and are fragmented by such aspects of organizations as formal structure, work processes, geographic dispersion, human resource practices, leadership style, and culture. This is particularly problematic in knowledge-intensive settings where manage- ment is counting on collaboration among employees with different types of expertise. People rely very heavily on their network of relationships to find information and solve problems—one of the most consistent findings in the social science literature is that who you know often has a great deal to do with what you come to know. 1 Yet both practical experience and scholarly research indicate significant difficulty in getting people with different expe